PIA 158

#The Second Child…

Hae-yi knew. This was certainly not being said for his sake.

Dad Ji-an probably had no idea, but Hae-yi had once accidentally overheard his two dads talking beside his bed while he was sleeping.

‘Hyung, can’t we have another baby?’

‘Do you want one?’

‘Yes. Hae-yi is so pretty, imagine how pretty another one would be.’

Dad Ji-an is a liar. Now that Hae-yi had grown up, he wanted a cuter baby! Being second place is hard enough, and now he might become third. Hae-yi clenched his small fists and tensed his stomach.

“No! I don’t want a sibling! I hate Dad! Dad is a liar!”

The scream was quite loud. Even Jeong Hee-seo, walking from afar, turned to look. Hae-yi shook off Ji-an’s startled hand and ran straight toward the main house where Yi-seo noona was.

* * *

“You’re doomed.”

Yi-seo declared bluntly while eating chocolate. Hae-yi, who was also eating chocolate while sitting dejectedly, raised his round eyes.

“What’s ‘doomed’?”

Yi-seo heaved a deep sigh.

“It means your plan has failed.”

Plan? Hae-yi tilted his head. If he asked what ‘plan’ meant, Yi-seo noona would surely get annoyed.

Yi-seo threw away her finished chocolate wrapper. She waited patiently for Hae-yi to finish his and threw that away too. Then she stood in front of Hae-yi.

“My friend says they’re super annoying. Always whining to play with them.”

“What is?”

“Siblings! Dummy.”

“Auntie! Noona called me dummy!”

“Hey!”

“Auntie! Noona said ‘hey’!”

With a sliding sound, the door opened and Jeong Hee-young entered. Behind her was a housekeeper carrying a snack tray. Yi-seo rolled her eyes at her mother’s sudden appearance. She was about to get scolded again because of Hae-yi. Just this alone proved how useless siblings were, yet she had to explain everything. Yi-seo sighed again looking at Hae-yi.

“Auntie! Noona keeps sighing at me!”

“Hae-yi, are you going to keep being a tattletale?”

“What’s a tattletale?”

“It’s someone who keeps telling on others.”

“But…”

“Enough now, here, have some tteokbokki. The housekeeper made it.”

Yi-seo was excited that her mother unexpectedly took her side. She acted cute to the housekeeper who was serving the snacks and quickly sat in her place. It was quite different from Hae-yi, who was moving hesitantly with a deflated spirit.

The soy sauce-seasoned tteokbokki was sweet and chewy. Unlike the awkward atmosphere earlier, the children eagerly ate with their forks. Jeong Hee-young, who had been quietly watching, was concerned that Hae-yi seemed more dejected than usual.

“Jeong Hae-yi. What’s wrong? Tell auntie.”

Jeong Hee-young poured some soda into a cup and offered it generously. Hae-yi bowed politely and took it, but just stared quietly at the bubbles fizzing in the cup.

Yi-seo, who was eating tteokbokki, chimed in.

“Hae-yi’s getting a sibling, mom.”

“What? Really?”

When Jeong Hee-young brightened, Hae-yi’s lips protruded again.

“Auntie, you like new babies too? Is Hae-yi not cute anymore because he’s grown up? Will you only hug the new baby?”

“What are you saying? Hae-yi is still a baby.”

“Hae-yi doesn’t want to be an older sibling. I don’t want a sibling. It’s hard.”

Jeong Hee-young wrinkled her nose bridge. When she turned her eyes, Yi-seo shrugged and said, “Right, mom?” While the news of a long-awaited youngest niece – that is, a sibling – was happy…

Jeong Hee-young wasn’t feeling good either, seeing her only niece so dejected.

“Oh my, our baby is suffering from the dads’ honeymoon phase.”

Jeong Hee-young picked up Hae-yi and hugged him tight. When she patted his bottom and tickled him, Hae-yi burst into giggles.

“How long are your two dads going to stay newlyweds? They need to show it less or the child will feel lonely. Tsk tsk. Jeong Hee-seo has always been peculiar.”

“What’s a honeymoon?”

“It means they’re having fun being lovey-dovey together.”

Hae-yi was starting to feel better in his aunt’s comforting embrace. But learning the word ‘honeymoon’ made it all meaningless. He didn’t even want to eat the tteokbokki he had been enjoying.

Slipping down from Jeong Hee-young’s arms, Hae-yi gulped down the cider he had poured and jumped in shock.

“Ah! Ah! It’s spicy! It’s spicy!”

“What, Hae-yi, haven’t you had soda before?”

Hae-yi’s eyes were as big as saucers and his face had turned red from surprise, but his aunt and sister just laughed. It was a moment that felt unfair in many ways.

* * *

Jeong Hee-seo’s footsteps were hurried as he rushed over after receiving Jeong Hee-young’s call. Unusually, his dress shoes made sharp clicking sounds as he quickly crossed the courtyard.

‘Hae-yi has a high fever. Hee-seo-ya. We went to the hospital, but he says he wants his dad.’

Usually, on days when he played with Yi-seo at the main house, he would refuse to go home even when asked. He typically insisted on staying with his sister even when sick, so Jeong Hee-seo was a bit surprised when he got the call. But Ji-an, who had heard alongside him, suggested with a very dejected face that it might be because of the sibling talk.

Hae-yi was a child full of cuteness. He acted as if the word ‘cute’ belonged to him. Even when Ji-an saw a puppy on the street and called it cute, he would ask if the puppy was cuter or if he was cuter.

So he could have reacted that way to the sibling talk.

Entering the main house, he found Hae-yi sitting alone on the pavilion outside. Such a tiny thing, yet he knew how to show loneliness. Jeong Hee-seo chuckled and strode over to check his forehead first.

“No fever? Our baby got better quickly.”

“Dad…”

Hae-yi dragged out the end of his word. His chin crumpled with jutting grievances. He scrunched up his large eyes that looked just like Ji-an’s, quickly filling them with tears. Jeong Hee-seo clicked his tongue.

This was why he couldn’t say anything harsh to Hae-yi.

Hae-yi threw himself into Jeong Hee-seo’s arms, dropping tears.

“Dad, Hae-yi hates honeymoon.”

Jeong Hee-seo raised an eyebrow. He wondered what this meant.

“Hae-yi hates siblings too.”

“Okay, shh. I understand.”

Jeong Hee-seo let Hae-yi rest his round head on his shoulder and gently swayed to comfort him. Usually, he would quickly fall asleep when he patted his back with his large hand. But today, the whining lasted longer.

Throughout his whimpering, he kept muttering that he hated honeymoon and hated siblings. He thought maybe Jeong Hee-young had said something unnecessary again, but concluded that he must really hate the idea of a sibling.

After circling the courtyard about three times, Ji-an approached hesitantly.

Is Hae-yi asleep? Ji-an mouthed from a distance. Jeong Hee-seo nodded and extended one arm to call Ji-an over. After waiting for him to come closer, he wrapped his arm around Ji-an’s shoulder.

“I didn’t know Hae-yi would hate it so much.”

The second member of his family that Jeong Hee-seo had to comfort was also sulking. Jeong Hee-seo chuckled and pulled Ji-an closer, pressing his lips to his forehead and the crown of his head.

Jeong Hee-seo and Jeong Hae-yi were, in a way, comrades. During those three months when Ji-an was asleep, the two people who had suddenly met had developed an irreplaceable bond while spending the intense newborn period together. That bond was so special that there was no room for Ji-an to intervene.

Ji-an pushed out his lips in a pout.

“Hae-yi told auntie that he’s second place, hyung.”

“That’s not wrong. You’re first place to me.”

When Ji-an shot him a sidelong glance, Jeong Hee-seo laughed so hard his shoulders shook.

“Jeong Hae-yi, this kid is really a funny little pup. It’s so obvious he likes you more than me.”

Though grumbling, Ji-an’s words were full of affection. Hae-yi’s cheeks and eyes were red and swollen from crying on Jeong Hee-seo’s shoulder. Ji-an felt his nose tingling for no reason and raised his hand to rub it.

“Little one, I love you too… I loved you from the moment I saw you.”

As if hearing Ji-an’s words, sleeping Hae-yi smacked his lips. Jeong Hee-seo hugged Ji-an tighter. The gentle swaying motion that was meant to put the child to sleep seemed to comfort Ji-an as well.

“Hae-yi knows. He loves you so much, that’s why he’s jealous and saying he doesn’t want a sibling.”

Ji-an wrapped his arms around Jeong Hee-seo’s waist. Standing like this under the night sky, the three of them seemed almost as if they were dancing. When he looked up with eyes full of affection, Jeong Hee-seo tilted his head and leaned against Ji-an. Ji-an reached out to gently trace Hae-yi’s forehead and cheeks.

Looking down at both of them with eyes full of love, Jeong Hee-seo whispered.

“Let’s postpone having a second child.”

Ji-an puffed his cheeks. It seemed things were going Jeong Hee-seo’s way again. Jeong Hee-seo poked Ji-an’s puffed cheek to deflate it and smiled deeply. ‘I love you,’ his whispering voice was so sweet that he had no choice but to give in. It seemed the second child would have to wait for another opportunity.